


The more things change, the more they stay the same

by Rosetylars



Series: Cricverse [5]
Category: Cricket RPF, Sports RPF
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Engagement, Established Relationship, Living Together, M/M, Mild spoilers for the future of my other fics, Non-Explicit Sex, Sleepy Cuddles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-24
Updated: 2020-02-24
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:09:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22879252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rosetylars/pseuds/Rosetylars
Summary: Eight and a half years after Mitch's debut, he's back at the same hotel in Johannesburg, and his position in the team isn't any more secure than it was in 2011.The big difference? The first time, he was nineteen with a massive secret crush on Pat. Now, they're engaged, and Mitch just needs to believe in himself.
Relationships: Aaron Finch/Glenn Maxwell, Mitch Marsh/Pat Cummins, Tim Paine/Steve Smith
Series: Cricverse [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1755766
Comments: 9
Kudos: 8





	The more things change, the more they stay the same

**Author's Note:**

> This is set after the events of [my Pitch origin story "Now and Forever"](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22146736/chapters/52864447) and [this one-shot "Always find my way back".](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22558993)
> 
> It's also after events yet to come in ["To the end.."](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21659161/chapters/51648943) and the Finchwell follows on from ["Our stars will fall.."](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22506697)
> 
> Of course, it can be read on its own!
> 
> ***  
> Sydney, February 2020 & Johannesberg, February 2020.

As usual, the Australian squad congregated in Sydney for their international flight to South Africa. Mitch took this as an opportunity to stay at Pat’s place for a couple of nights. It had become a second home to Mitch over the years, and every time he walked in the door, he felt happy. 

As they laid in bed the night before their long flight, Pat asked, “How long do you reckon it’ll take the boys to work out that we’re engaged?”

Mitch was sprawled out lazily against Pat’s side, his head on Pat’s chest. Pat’s hand was in his hair, which was still damp from the shower. Mitch hummed thoughtfully. “The boys from the Test team know already,” he reminded Pat. Pat had rocked up to day one of the Test summer wearing an engagement band, and since most players already knew of his relationship with Mitch, the meaning was obvious. “The Scorchers boys know too. It’s just Finchy and the white ball boys who don’t know,” Mitch considered.

“True,” Pat agreed. “Guess they’ll all find out tomorrow, though.” He rolled on top of Mitch, making Mitch’s breath hitch. “Let’s enjoy our last night at home, shall we?”

Mitch’s eyes fluttered shut as Pat’s lips sucked high on his neck, raising goosebumps on his skin. “Yes, please,” he sighed, giving in to Pat’s seduction.

***  
Pat had made sure their bags were packed and ready to go before dinner the night before they left, because he anticipated Mitch’s sleepy protests when the alarm went off in the morning. 

“C’mon, Patty, just cuddle me for five more minutes,” he mumbled, hooking a leg around Pat’s calves to trap him.

Pat sighed, enjoying the feeling of Mitch’s bare chest against his back. Mitch pressed kisses into Pat’s shoulder-blades and neck. “Just five,” he relented, warning, “We can’t be late.” Mitch happily nuzzled his head into Pat’s back, falling back into a light doze.

When their second alarm went off, Mitch groaned. Pat sat up, the sheets pooling around his waist. Mitch opened his eyes and drank in the sight, and Pat must’ve caught his expression, eyes darkening, because he smiled knowingly. “Don’t look at me like that when we have to get going,” Pat protested weakly.

“Look at you like what?” Mitch grinned cheekily, knowing exactly what Pat meant. Still lying down, he traced a hand down Pat’s chest, lightly brushing over the marks his mouth had left last night. 

Pat closed his eyes briefly, enjoying the sensation. He sighed, defeated. “You know, when I set those alarms I left us enough time for a shower,” Pat said slowly, opening his eyes to see Mitch’s eyes darken in response. 

“This is why I love you,” Mitch grinned. 

***  
When they eventually got to the airport, a couple of the other local NSW boys had already arrived, and the flight from Adelaide had already come in. 

“I didn’t know the Perth flight was in yet?” Dave asked upon seeing Mitch, standing beside Pat.

Mitch shrugged. “Probably isn’t. I’ve been here for a few days,” he replied honestly.

“Ah,” Dave nodded with realisation. “That’s nice,” he said. “I haven’t had the chance to congratulate you in person on the engagement,” he smiled.

“Thanks, Dave,” Mitch smiled softly, giving Pat’s hand a brief squeeze. 

Zamps had come over to join them, and at that, he gasped, “Engagement?” 

Dave pointed to the rings on their fingers, and Zamps grinned when he saw them. “Congrats, guys, that’s awesome. When did it happen?”

Mitch looked at Pat to explain. “End of the last Ashes series,” Pat replied, looking at Mitch with so much love that Mitch’s heart melted. 

“You two have been together forever, I’m glad you’re making it official,” Dave said.

The news spread quickly as the rest of the team arrived, and soon, Kane and Kez both congratulated the boys as well.

“Those rings are sick,” Kane commented, holding Pat’s hand up in front of his eyes to inspect the band. 

Pat smiled shyly, thanking Kane for the compliment.

When Finchy and the other Victorian boys arrived, Dave told him he had to ask Pat for the news.

“What news? Tell me he’s not injured,” Finchy grumbled, before Dave pointed to where Pat and Mitch were sitting in the departure gate. He walked over, preparing for the worst. “G’day, boys, nice to see you again. I’ve been instructed to ask you for the news?”

Pat blushed, and Mitch grinned lazily. “We’re engaged,” Mitch announced proudly.

Whatever doomsday scenario Finchy had been expecting, he hadn’t considered it to be good news. “Thank god for that,” he sighed with relief.

Pat frowned with confusion. “Were you really that invested in our relationship?”

Finchy realised how it had sounded, and backtracked. “Sorry, I assumed the news was going to be an injury or something. I’m glad you’re both okay,” he explained, and at Mitch’s still-confused look, he added, “more than okay! I’m really happy for you boys.”

Pat smiled, brushing his fingertips over Mitch’s engagement band without thinking. “So, Finchy, when are you and Maxi taking the next step?” Pat waggled his eyebrows.

Finchy inhaled sharply, cheeks flushing with colour. “Fuck, that’s a bit far,” he blurted out.

Mitch crinkled up his nose. “Far? You’ve been together for like, longer than we have,” he pointed out.

“No, not longer,” Finchy clarified. “Maybe we started earlier than you boys, but we definitely haven’t been together for the whole time, you boys know that.”

Pat shrugged. “Marriage isn’t about how long you’ve been together. Look at Steve and Timmy,” he pointed out. They all looked across the departure lounge to where Steve was sprawled across two seats, looking relaxed and happy. He was holding his phone to his ear with his left hand, an engagement band of his own glinting on his finger in the sterile airport lighting.

Finchy sighed, and was it just Mitch’s imagination, or did it seem to be tinged with a hint of jealousy? “If Maxi wants to keep me around for more than a couple of months this time, maybe I’ll consider what you’re saying,” he said wryly. 

Mitch frowned. “I thought things were good now?”

Aaron grimaced. “It’s not exactly easy leaving him alone right after surgery, to go on the tour that he’s meant to be on,” he explained.

Pat nodded sympathetically. “I get it. But it’s not your fault, Finchy. And I’m sure he understands that you’d be home with him if you could.”

Finchy seemed to calm down at Pat’s words, and the conversation turned to lighter topics as the rest of the team turned up to wait for their flight.

Eventually, they were all settled in on the aeroplane, and Pat and Mitch had been given the seats beside each other.

“Remember when we used to have to swap tickets with everyone all the time?” Pat asked quietly.

Mitch chuckled. “Or we had to just cop it, and sit with other people,” he replied.

Pat chuckled softly, and Mitch yawned. Pat put an arm around him, and Mitch melted into his side, head on Pat’s shoulder. “Sleep if you want, we have a lot of hours to kill,” Pat pointed out. 

Mitch yawned again and snuggled his head further into Pat’s shoulder, pressing a kiss into his neck as he shut his eyes.

***  
Mitch was nervous as hell. Being named in the squad was one thing, but as he’d learnt throughout his whole career, actually getting into the playing XI was a whole other challenge. 

The first match of the white ball tour was in Johannesburg - the same stadium where he had made his international debut eight and a half years ago. 

They sat in the selection meeting on Friday morning, and Mitch felt sick. So much had changed since the first time he’d sat in this room, sick to his stomach with nerves at nineteen, praying for his name to be read out. Now, the coaches were all different, most of the players were different, and he was different. He was so much more resilient now than he had been when he was younger - he’d been through so many rough patches, some of which he was sure were not going to get better. He was an uncle now, and his family gave him more happiness in his life, where before, cricket was his everything. 

One thing that wasn’t different to the first time, though, was the presence of Pat beside him. 

JL had worked out that they were together almost as soon as he’d taken up the head coaching role, so they didn’t need to hide anything any more. On top of that, these days, they were always roomed together without having to swap key cards with long-suffering teammates. 

Before breakfast that morning, Mitch had been so sick with nerves that he had thrown up. He had barely slept the night before, waking up several times after dreaming that the match was already over. In all of the dreams, he’d either not played or he was the worst on ground. 

Pat had rubbed his back after he vomited bile into the toilet. “Baby, no match is worth this much worrying,” he had said gently, flushing the toilet while Mitch rinsed his mouth. 

“Sorry,” Mitch had mumbled, wiping water from his mouth. “Can’t help it. I just know this series is my last chance,” he grimaced. 

Pat’s face had fallen. He never needed to worry about his spot in the team, and that made him feel unbelievably guilty, considering his fiancé pretty much had to prove himself every single match. “It’s not fair, Mitchy,” Pat had grumbled. 

Now, though, fair or not, the selections had been made, and the boys anxiously waited to hear them. Pat desperately wanted to hold Mitch’s hand, but he settled for a reassuring grip on Mitch’s knee. Mitch stroked Pat’s engagement band lovingly as they waited. 

“Boys, listen up,” the assistant coach began. “There were a number of different options we had to weigh up. This is one of the strongest squads we’ve had in years, so it’s tough to narrow it down to eleven. No one in the squad deserves to miss out,” he explained sympathetically. “But this is the team we’ve settled on.” The assistant coach uncovered the list that had been written on the whiteboard. 

Mitch’s eyes darted straight to the middle order and his heart stopped. He had to read the list a couple of times to be sure it was real. Warner. Finch. Smith. Wade. And listed at five: M. Marsh. 

Pat gasped and threw an arm around Mitch’s waist, squeezing him. “Yes, baby,” he whispered. 

Since Maxi announced he was having surgery, it had looked like there was a spot up for grabs between Mitch and D’Arcy Short. Mitch couldn’t believe he’d been chosen over D’Arcy. 

Jhye Richardson and Sean Abbott were the bowlers to miss out, and Mitch made sure to console them after the meeting. He knew first hand how much it stung to miss out. 

They had an hour of free time after the meeting, before they had to head to the ground. When Pat and Mitch were alone in the privacy of their hotel room, Mitch flopped onto the bed with relief. Pat jumped on top of him, peppering his face with kisses. 

“I’m - so - proud - of - you,” Pat beamed, every word punctuated by a kiss. 

Mitch giggled, overwhelmed with the attention. He gripped Pat and rolled the pair of them slightly so they could cuddle. “Thank you,” he smiled. “We’re playing together again, finally!”

“You’re gonna be amazing. I can’t wait to watch you bat,” Pat grinned. 

Mitch snaked his hand under Pat’s shirt, resting it on the warm skin of his lower abs. “That’s if Finchy and Dave don’t put on two hundred together,” Mitch considered. 

Pat stroked Mitch’s back idly. “We’ll see what happens. I’m so happy for you, no matter what happens now.”

***  
Eight and a half years after the first time, Pat and Mitch found themselves in the bathroom at the Wanderers Stadium before the match.

Mitch was gripping the sink, very pale, breathing hard. His head was hunched forward, and Pat could see the tension in his neck and shoulders.

“Mitchy, you’ve played so many matches of cricket before. You’re going to be amazing. And if you aren’t, that’s okay,” Pat soothed, rubbing his back. 

Mitch shook his head. “This is my last chance. I saw the CA media manager looking through replies on the team announcement. There were people talking shit about me being selected, yet again,” he mumbled. 

Pat took a moment to process what Mitch was saying. “What did you see?”

“My personal favourite was, direct quote, ‘Mitch Marsh is a crap,’” Mitch locked eyes with Pat. 

Pat huffed a laugh out of his nose. “I don’t think you’re ‘a crap,’ Mitchy,” he said gently. Mitch laughed humourlessly, standing up and tearing his hands back through his hair. When Mitch didn’t speak, Pat gripped his jaw gently. “Baby, remember what I said the first time we were here? The only way you fail is if you don’t go out there,” he repeated. 

Mitch sighed. He knew Pat was right - he couldn’t simply give up just because he was nervous. That would be the easy way out. “You always know what to say,” he mumbled. 

Pat leant in and kissed him gently. “Because I know how your mind can hurt you, baby,” he said softly. Mitch leant back in for a deeper kiss, enjoying the familiar warmth of Pat’s tongue gliding against his own. They kissed until Mitch’s shoulders relaxed a fraction, and the nausea subsided in his stomach. Mitch was ready to face the match with Pat by his side.

Australia lost the toss and were sent in to bat first. It looked like the team came out with intent when Dave smacked a four off the first ball, but he was caught out just one ball later. Steve and Finchy kept things under control after that, and it looked like they were both cruising until Aaron was caught out on 42 runs after eight overs. Wade joined Steve and helped put on another good partnership, until he was caught on 18 runs from 11 balls. 

Mitch took a deep breath before he headed out onto the ground. He looked back at Pat, whose expression was full of love and belief. Pat knew Mitch could do well, and Mitch tried to believe that, too. 

When Mitch got to the crease, Steve tapped gloves with him, before facing the last two balls of the over. Steve took a single off the last ball, so he was back on strike for the first ball of the 13th over. Unfortunately, that ended up being his last. He charged down the pitch, ready to hit through midwicket, but the slow ball deceived him and he was stumped. 

Australia had been scoring at more than ten runs an over before that - they looked to be well on their way to 200. The South African bowlers were really struggling to execute, bowling a lot of wides, but now the pressure was on Mitch and Kez, both on zero runs, fresh to the crease with seven overs remaining.

Mitch didn’t know that Pat was in the dugout, crossing his fingers every ball he faced. Mitch only faced one ball in the 13th over, getting off the mark immediately for a single. Kez managed to hit a six in amongst a couple of dots in that over.

The next over was a tidy one for South Africa, but Mitch managed to his a single from each ball he faced. The 15th over was bowled by Rabada, and Mitch shuddered when he thought back to the last Test he’d played against South Africa - injured, sick, and the team’s discipline crumbling around him. Kez managed a couple of fours before taking a single, and then Mitch was back on strike. The delivery came at him at lightning pace, and his heart stopped as he top-edged it. Luckily, it was too high for de Kock to handle, and it bounced safely before rolling away for four. 

The pair plodded along, mostly in singles. Dale Steyn’s final over - the 17th of the match - was very economical for the South Africans, with only a run to each batsman and two leg byes to Kez. The pressure was building, and their run rate wasn’t as high as the top order had managed. Mitch felt the pressure, and he tried to hit the first ball of the 18th over for six, but he swung too early. Luckily, he was safe, but Pat nearly had a heart attack on the team bench as it happened.

The next ball was a wide, and Mitch took advantage of his second try at it, thumping it over the boundary for six. Finally, finally, it felt like the monkey was off his back, and the tension left his shoulders.

Kez was dismissed in that over for 27 from 22 balls, and six balls later, Mitch aimed for another big six. Unfortunately, his hit fell short, and he was caught out on the boundary, for 19 runs from 14 balls. 

The Aussies finished the innings on a very healthy 6/196, but Mitch was devastated that he couldn’t finish off the innings and put more of a score together. So much had been said about him needing to be the team’s finisher, and he hadn’t been able to do that. 

In the innings break, he grabbed a Gatorade and slumped in his locker while the bowlers and the bowling coach went over their plans. Finchy had told him that it was highly unlikely they’d need to call on him to bowl, and that had made Mitch feel even more useless. 

Once the bowlers’ meeting was done, Pat sat down beside Mitch. “Why the frowny face, bub?” Pat asked.

Mitch shrugged, not meeting his eyes. “Didn’t do my job,” he mumbled, fiddling with the edge of the pads that he still hadn’t taken off. 

Pat frowned. “You came in and built a big partnership with Kez when we needed you to. You absolutely did your job,” he reasoned, squeezing Mitch’s thigh. He still had his thigh pad on, too, not willing to accept his innings was over. Mitch sighed, and Pat pulled him into his side. “Mitchy, you are way too hard on yourself. You batted well and helped us to a good total. Now it’s time for us to defend it,” Pat said gently. 

***  
The bowling innings belonged to Ash Agar. He was absolutely amazing, taking five wickets including a hat trick. Pat contributed two wickets of his own, and the Aussies managed to bowl South Africa out for just 89 runs. 

They had won by 107 runs. 

In the locker room, they all crowded around Ash, cheering and carrying on, everyone wanting a piece of him. After the excitement wore off, Finchy addressed the group and told them all how proud he was of everyone. 

For a little while, Mitch allowed himself to let go of everything he’d been worried about. He had been involved in an overseas T20 win, and he had contributed, despite feeling like he had more to give. He had his fiancé by his side, and he loved his teammates. If he couldn’t enjoy today, what could he enjoy?

He and Pat laid in bed that night, Mitch lying stomach down on the bed, his head on Pat’s bare chest. Pat traced shapes onto Mitch’s back with his fingertips. After a while, Mitch asked quietly, “Would you change anything?”

Pat was startled by the question, and his hand paused for a moment. “What do you mean?”

Mitch tried to find the right words, turning his head so he could look at Pat. “We were so young when we started our careers here, but everything turned to shit for both of us after that. Do you wish it was different?”

Pat frowned. “Do you mean the injuries?”

“Yeah, that’s part of it. But don’t you wish things had been more straightforward for both of us after that first tour?” Mitch asked.

Pat considered this. “No,” he decided. “Because the injuries and being dropped and those setbacks all contributed to who we are today. We wouldn’t love each other this much or appreciate playing cricket this much if things were easier for us. It was the bad times, more than the good times, that made us stronger, Mitchy.”

Mitch was stunned. Pat always amazed him, but this was beyond anything he’d felt for him before. His eyes felt a bit wet, and he blinked them furiously to try and hide it. 

“Hey,” Pat said gently, seeing Mitch’s reaction. “I love you, okay? This is how destiny decided our lives would go. I don’t regret one thing that’s happened, because it’s led me here, back to the place where it all started for us,” he smiled, brushing a hand through Mitch’s hair fondly.

“I love you, Patty,” Mitch replied. He couldn’t believe how lucky he was that this smart, caring, beautiful man had asked him to be his husband five months ago.

Pat smiled, reaching out beside him to switch the bedside light off. “I love you too. I can’t wait to be your husband."

**Author's Note:**

> Oops, another fic in this universe. I'm not sorry ;) 
> 
> I might leave this as is, but I might also add another chapter addressing the second match (still getting over it) and the ones still to come. Any feedback to persuade me would be greatly appreciated! As always, I really appreciate you reading :) please feel free to comment! xx


End file.
